Newsletter Articles

Freedom Rings

This past Chanukah Shabbat was such a thrill to be a part of. We retold the story of Chanukah, children looked into the light of the chanukiah with their parents and family surrounding them. We joined our voices in song, singing in Hebrew, English and Arabic. We brought light into the darkness of winter, into the darkness of times. We told stories of Judah Maccabee and his leading us to freedom, we exclaimed that another song would rise from our throats once more out of the destruction, that children would once more sing and dream. Martin Luther King Jr. lifted his voice to the people and spoke of freedom as well with these famous words: "we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream... when we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last, Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" What does it mean to be free? Merriam Webster offers this definition:1 the quality or state of being free, as a) the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action; b) liberation from slavery or restraint or from the power of another, independence; c) the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous; d) ease, facility; e) the quality of being frank, open, or outspoken; f) improper familiarity; g)boldness of conception or execution; h) unrestricted use <gave him the freedom of their home> 2 a political right From this definition we understand Freedom as without boundaries, strength in independence and thinking. Freedom can be the idea of letting go, of ease. Freedom can be honest. Freedom, the dictionary defines, can also be improper or bold or unrestricted. These last definitions tell us that sometimes Freedom may have negative qualities to it. The very last definition defines America as we live today: freedom as a political right. We are free to vote for our leadership. We can choose the politicians, hopefully, and ultimately leaders who will guide us through our present into the future. We live in a country that espouses free speech, yet even in modern times we may be restricted because of our gender, our sexuality, our religion. There are instances where some may believe that certain freedoms, such as our right to choose whom we love or who we worship are improper, that our openness is too bold or outspoken. Perhaps these instances are subtle. We may read of them in statistics, understanding that in the work force women may only reach 80% of the salary their male counterparts make in the same position. We may feel unwelcome or on the outskirts of our community or our nation based on our partnering or marital relationships. If we look physically different, or speak differently, we may not completely feel free to be ourselves in the communities in which we live and work. We live in a country, where we now fear for the lives of our children- our bright futures, and we fear for the lives of their guides and educators. Yet, we live in a "free" country - what does it mean to be free? If being free means all of the above, most importantly that we have a right to speak our minds, then on the one hand, this definition tells us we must embrace every kind of freedom. We must embrace the idea that all people have a right to express themselves (with words and non-violent/non-bullying action) and we must understand that we may not always understand the thinking behind those words. We cannot tell other people what to think. When others put judgments and restrictions upon us because of our looks, our thoughts, our gender, our sexuality, our religion - when they are exercising their freedom of speech - how do we respond as Jews? I believe that we respond with our words and our actions. We respond with our freedom. We embrace the Ger V'toshav, the stranger in the community, no matter how different, with open welcome arms, with kind words, encouraging smiles. We reach our hands across boundaries be it race, color, creed, country, gender. We come together as a community in gmilut chassadim - lovingkindess, and in tzedek - justice. By responding this way, we can truly be free. On January 18th we will come together as a community, from far and near, from different religions and backgrounds, and we will celebrate the legacy of hope and freedom Martin Luther King Jr. fought so strongly for, and left for us. I look forward to my return at that service, and to singing joyfully with all of our combined voices. This past weekend I taught my sixth and seventh grade students a song entitled "Mirembe, Mirembe, Salaam V'shalom." Rabbi Noam Katz travelled to Uganda and wrote this upon his return. The verses are in Luganda, Hebrew, English and Arabic, and say "mirembe, mirembe salaam v'shalom, make peace in the village, make peace in the home. Make peace in the morning until daylight is done, mirembe, mirembe, salaam v'shalom." In the wake of the tragedy and the strife we have seen in this dark time of winter, let us remember to make peace, near and far. Let us join together in song on January 18th, and use our voices to send our song and message of freedom and peace throughout the world. Ken Yhi Ratzon, May it be God's will. B'shira, Lauren